As the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis celebrates the Dec. 9 ordination of 18 permanent deacons, the director of diaconate formation is encouraging others who might be hearing the call to explore the possibility.

“We have deacon discernment days here at The St. Paul Seminary,” said Deacon Eric Cooley of the Institute for Diaconate Formation at the seminary in St. Paul. “The next one will be in April of 2024, and it’s an opportunity to come and find out more about what is a deacon, who is the deacon … what kinds of things do they do? What does formation look like?”

Speaking with “Practicing Catholic” producer Kayla Mayer for a show debuting at 9 p.m. Dec. 15 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, Deacon Cooley said his sense of being called began when he was quite young and serving at the altar during Mass. He liked anticipating and meeting the priest’s needs at Mass.

“In hindsight, I can see that that was kind of the beginning stages of this draw,” Deacon Cooley said. “One of my favorite passages of Scripture was the washing of the feet. Again, something that was a draw to me, to the diaconate.”

Confused in college about feeling called to marriage and yet called to ministry, Deacon Cooley said he began to sense that he would be a deacon.

“And so that kind of began the journey for me to explore with the priest in the parish at our college, and then talking to different deacons to explore what this could be like. And then eventually I went through the Catechetical Institute (at The St. Paul Seminary) which is a prerequisite here in the archdiocese to enter formation.”

Discernment continued with his wife and members of the Church, Deacon Cooley said. “You actually have to ask that question with the Church. And we discerned it. And I’ve been ordained now for four years.”

To learn more about discernment, the vows a deacon makes, the three-fold ministry of service a deacon has to the word of God, the altar and divine charity, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which also repeats on Relevant Radio at 1 p.m. Dec. 16 and 2 p.m. Dec. 17.

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes Will Peterson, founder and president of St. Paul-based nonprofit Modern Catholic Pilgrim, who discusses primary ingredients of a pilgrimage, pilgrimage routes to the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024 and other aspects of his work; and Father Paul Hedman, who shares how Catholics can prepare their hearts through the sacrament of reconciliation during Advent.

Listen to interviews after they have aired at?PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.